'All right. So what?'
'So what? You stole it from me, you disgusting little sneak thief.'
I wiped a smear of blood from my suddenly bloated lower lip. 'I'd say I stole it from the King. But let's not argue semantics. How is that a reason to break my jaw?'
'What? Because…' I could see Alvantes straining to think through his fury. He didn't try too hard. 'You're a damned fool. What will this achieve? You can't make someone king by hanging a crown round their neck. Even if you could, it's just a hunk of metal to them.'
'Like their stone was just a stone to us? Like I said, back off. Maybe you've given up, but that doesn't mean the rest of us have to. At least I'm trying something.'
'Given up?' He paused then — or I thought he'd meant to, anyway. Faint shudders like the ruffling of wind on water were coursing down his body, but he didn't seem aware. 'Fine. Do whatever the Hells you want. Play your games with these poor bastards. Maybe you'll piss them off enough that they'll give you the thrashing you deserve.'
Alvantes spun on his heel, stormed away.
My relief lasted just as long as it took me to turn my head and wonder just how prescient his last words might be. A vast shadow closed round me, as though the early daylight had been snuffed like a candle flame. 'What have you done?'
I was almost too shocked to hear Saltlick string together four words in grammatical order to be alarmed. 'You're going to have to trust me,' I told him.
'Not trust! Not king!'
'Just for a little while. Please, Saltlick.'
He wanted to believe me. For all his obvious anger, that much was obvious. Given my past performance, I couldn't be surprised that he was finding it a struggle.
Just for once, though, luck was on my side.
'Just give me a chance,' I told him. 'This is for your own good, I swear it.'
Before Saltlick could answer, I was sprinting towards the wagon crawling towards us on the road below. I'd realised straight away it must be the locals coming with the morning's meal — and when I saw Huero driving, with Dura beside him, I couldn't help but whoop a laugh. It was all I could do not to leap onto the driver's board and hug them both.
Huero reined the horses in. 'Damasco.' There was concern in his eyes. 'Do you need help?'
Only then did I realise I'd just charged at him, with a bloody lip, whilst laughing manically. 'I do. But not for me. Huero, I have a plan. To get the giants moving… to get them home once and for all. Only, it's going to take everyone. Everyone you know, everyone you can gather. Can you bring them here? The more people, the sooner you do it, the more likely it is to work.'
'But… what about the food?'
'The food can wait. Will you do it? The faster, the more people, the better.'
Huero nodded. 'Of course. I'll try. Give me an hour, all right?'
'As quick as you can.'
I caught my breath and watched him turn the wagon, before starting back towards the giant camp. This time, I didn't hurry. There was every chance Alvantes had come up with new reasons to hammer my face by now. Even if he hadn't, every moment weighed in my favour. Whatever slim trust Saltlick had in me, I could only keep it kindled for so long.
Sure enough, he watched me questioningly as I crossed the last distance. I didn't have any answers for him — or none that he'd like. 'One hour,' I said, 'just wait one hour. Give me that much… then you'll see.'
Alvantes was gone, at least. I could see him by the riverbank, feeding and watering the horses. Rather than give Saltlick time to answer, I followed his example, heading in the opposite direction. I singled out a patch of hillside far from any of the giants and sat down. With one eye on Saltlick, the other on Alvantes in case of further hostilities, I settled to wait.
For all my good intentions, I was drowsing by the time Huero returned. His voice calling my name shocked me into wakefulness. For a moment, I was bewildered to see an entire village worth of people gathered upon the lower slope. Then I remembered.
Huero had outdone himself. Judging by numbers, he must have brought everyone between here and the Hunch. I hurried down to meet them.
'Thank you, everyone,' I said. 'For all your kindness towards the giants, and for coming here now. I'll need just a few minutes of your time.'
I rapidly outlined what I wanted them to do. There were a great many gasps, a few appalled looks, and a general rumble of discontent. Somewhere towards the back, a woman exclaimed, 'Well, I never. Not in all my days.'
Huero chose that moment to step in. 'It's a strange request, all right, friend Damasco.' He was speaking in my direction, but it was obvious his words were intended for the crowd. 'Still, but for you, these giants might have starved by now. It's obvious you want what's best for them.'
'Don't we all?' I asked. 'And what's best for them is what's best for all of you — to get them back home where they belong. With a little harmless play-acting, that's exactly what we'll do.' There was a subdued muttering and much clearing of throats, but I knew Huero had shifted the mood a little in my favour. I could only hope it would be enough. 'Excellent. The sooner we start, the sooner it's done.'
Helpless before that inarguable logic, the mob of villagers fell in behind me, and I marched them towards where Saltlick stood waiting. If he'd looked perplexed before, his reaction to the peasant army bearing down on him now was one of sheer bewilderment. The other giants, too, were watching with curious fascination.
That, at least, was a good sign.
'All right,' I said, as softly as I dared, 'On the count of three. One… two… three…'
I knelt before Saltlick, hoping against hope that now that the time had come, the villagers would follow my lead. I gave it a moment, in case of stragglers — and I began to shout.
'All hail! All hail Saltlick, King of the Castoval!'
Huero matched me in both word and volume. For the rest, a few thin voices came to my aid, sounding more apologetic than forceful. Was I the only one kneeling? I dared a glance. Dura and Huero had joined me, of course, their brows all but scraping the dewdampened grass. Of the others, some were halfway to their knees, others barely tilting their heads.
Nothing for it. I had to press on.
'All hail! All hail King Saltlick!'
This time, it was more of a concerted effort. More people lent their voices than didn't, even if few sounded sure about what they were yelling.
I drew a deep breath, poured it all into my next shout. 'All hail! Hail King Saltlick, King of the Castoval!'
Better, far better. Finally, they were beginning to sound as though their hearts were in it.
'All hail! All hail Saltlick, King of the Castoval!'
This time, the sound cascaded over me, a wave that tingled through my every muscle, made the hairs on my neck stand straight. I barely heard my own voice amidst the roar. It was a good job too, because my throat was starting to feel scraped raw. I lowered my volume a fraction, grateful to let others carry the weight.
I gave it half a dozen more rounds and then bowed low as I could manage, forehead to the ground. A rustle of clothing from all around told me the villagers had remembered this final, crucial detail. I regained my feet. Around me, the crowd was already beginning to break up. There was an air of confusion, as if no one was quite certain what had just happened.
I looked towards the giants. Well, we'd certainly kept their attention — and probably that was the best I could hope for at this stage. I turned to Saltlick. He was staring fixedly at the point where we'd been kneeling, with an expression of distant horror.
Huero appeared beside me. 'I thought that went well. Didn't you?'
'Honestly?' I said. 'I have no idea.'
'Should we feed them now?'
'Not yet. There's one more thing I need to do.'
'All right. We'll wait. Good luck, Damasco.'
